A Perth group has returned from a trip to Romania to help disabled kids get over their terror of dental examinations.

Fair City dentist Dr Miriam Fraser and dental nurses Sandra Christie and Andrea Sturrock left the orderly waiting room of Broxden Dental Centre last month and joined forces with charity Vision Romania to provide dental care to special needs children and their carers at a respite camp.

They went to Casa Harului, in Varmaga, Romania. Camp staff organise fun games, crafts and activities designed to give the special needs children space to develop social interaction, and essential support and counselling to their parents and carers.

“Many families had never had the opportunity for a holiday, so the relief of attending camp, relaxing and watching their children grow in experience and health was inexpressibly valuable,” said Dr Miriam Fraser yesterday.

Miriam, Sandra and Andrea helped do examinations on youngsters who were very reluctant and anxious about having their teeth looked at.

Sandra told the PA: “It was very rewarding to see children who have encountered very little positivity within the healthcare system allowing basic investigations and treatment.

“One very insular girl who attended the camp last year had previously refused the dentist. But this time around, she was able to interact with us and completed a dental exam over two days, letting us examine her lower jaw on the first day and the upper the next.

“She went away beaming with a sticker to show off her bravery.”

In Romania dental treatment is expensive in comparison to the monthly wage and the majority of people helped by Vision Romania are simply unable to afford it, leaving them suffering with dental pain as a part of life.

“There’s a huge need for treatment as most of the patients have little or no access to dental care,” explained Sandra, now back in Perth.

The dental staff were hugely tested when they visited a special school which houses around 300 residents who have grown up in the orphanage system.

Under the previous Soviet era, Romania’s disabled children were consigned to orphanages where children were hidden away under unimaginably cruel conditions, often restrained and left to cry.

“Although a lot has changed and improved it is still the case that children born with special needs can encounter very negative social attitudes,” Sandra added.

“We discovered the amount of treatment required at this special school was an insurmountable mountain and the team found it our most difficult and emotional day.”

The Perth team also had the opportunity to give out toothbrushes and toothpaste and give talks on using them effectively. Such essentials are difficult to find and expensive to buy, meaning that many people are neglecting their teeth.

Sandra declared: “It was a busy and rewarding trip and saying goodbye was difficult, knowing the conditions that some were returning to.’’